Topeka ? Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft is campaigning in Kansas for Republican Kris Kobach, saying his political protege is more than qualified to be secretary of state.

Ashcroft spoke at a campaign luncheon Thursday in Topeka. He was scheduled to speak at an event later in the day in the Wichita suburb of Andover.

Kobach was an adviser to Ashcroft in the U.S. Justice Department from 2001 to 2003. Ashcroft says Kobach helped with the agency’s reorganization following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Kobach later returned to Kansas. He teaches at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.

Also seeking the GOP nomination for secretary of state are Shawnee County Election Commissioner Elizabeth Ensley and Salina resident J.R. Claeys, a former CEO of the National Association of Government Contractors.